SAN DIEGO — No. 23 BYU men’s golf sits in fourth place at 9-over par as darkness suspended play Monday at the Vuori Invitational at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club.
Kihei Akina leads the Cougars, sitting tied for fourth at 1 under.
“We got off to a really nice start today, but we made too many doubles on our back nine,” head coach Todd Miller said. “The golf course got tougher as the day went on with windy conditions and really firm greens. The guys handled the conditions fairly well, but we didn’t make enough birdies. Fortunately, if we make a really nice run tomorrow, we will have a chance to win.”
Akina shot rounds of 71 and 70 to finish the day at 1-under par. After opening the first round with a birdie on No. 4, Akina added a birdie on No. 10. The sophomore recorded bogeys on Nos. 13 and 17 to finish the round at even par.
Akina started the second round with a bogey on the opening hole before offsetting a bogey on No. 7 with a birdie on No. 8. After the turn, he made a birdie on No. 11 before capping the round at 1 under with a birdie on the final hole.
Parker Bunn is tied for 12th after shooting rounds of 71 and 73 to finish the day at 2 over. He highlighted the opening round with birdies on Nos. 4 and 18 and bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6 before recording three bogeys and a birdie in the second round.
Drake Harvey (74-72-146) shot a 4-over 146 and is tied for 23rd.
Austin Shelley (73-74-147) and Jackson Mauss (73-74-147) sit in a tie for 33rd at 5 over.
Competing as an individual, David Liechty (73-82-155) finished day one at 13 over and is tied for 63rd.
No. 10 Arkansas (284-284-568) leads the tournament at even par. Colorado (287-285-572) sits in second at 4 over, while Oregon (285-290-575) is third at 7 over. Pacific rounds out the top five at 11 over, with one player still needing to complete two holes.
The tournament will continue Tuesday at 9 a.m. MDT, with the remaining players completing the second round before the final round begins. Live scoring is available at scoreboard.com.
DAY ONE✅ pic.twitter.com/UZs33WgfyC
— BYU Men's Golf (@BYUmgolf) September 15, 2026